


Not So Charming

by sgtxliptonsx86



Series: Not So Charming [2]
Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:20:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22651654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgtxliptonsx86/pseuds/sgtxliptonsx86
Summary: *rewrite* Ryder Winston  was done with Charming and the outlaw lifestyle, until the day that Jax Teller calls her to let her know that Wendy, his ex wife, had a son and that he needed her by his side.
Relationships: Chibs Telford/Original Female Character(s), Clay Morrow/Gemma Teller Morrow, Donna Winston/Opie Winston, Jax Teller/Original Character(s), Juice Ortiz/Original Female Character(s), Tara Knowles/Jax Teller
Series: Not So Charming [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550449
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Introduction

Introduction:  
Washington State. 

The grinding buzzing noise of her cell phone on the wood table next to her ceased the studying that Ryder Winston was in the middle of, she was three days short of taking the bar and getting admitted to the Washington state bar. 

“Yeah?” She asked into the device after heaving a heavy sigh. 

“Ry?” 

“Jax?” She dropped her pen onto the notebook and sat up straight, the last time she had heard from or saw Jax Teller, he had come up to Tacoma to check on her and to give her money to help her start out.

“What’s wrong? Is everyone okay? Did someone else get arrested?” 

Her older brother Opie had been arrested almost 5 years prior, for what she didn’t know and she knew better than to ask because they would never tell her. 

“Everyone is fine. Wendy had the baby.” 

The redhead rubbed her hand across her forehead and sighed, she had forgotten about the pregnancy that she heard through the grapevine from Kozik, her assigned Sons bodyguard. “Isn't it too early for him to be here?” She pulled her planner to her and flipped to the month that she had marked off to try and go home to Charming for the baby and to see her niece and nephew.  
“It is but you know Wendy.”

A bitter laugh escaped her mouth before she could stop it, she did know Wendy and she knew about her addiction. And that she would never let it go. 

“Tara said that he has the same heart defect that Tommy and I had.” Ryder inhaled sharply and clutched at the pendant that was hanging around her neck. Not only because of the heart defect but because Tara was back in Charming. She was one of the main reasons why Ryder left Charming, and never wanted to go back the rest was history. History she knew was going to be dragged up once she stepped foot back into Charming. 

History she didn’t want to relive. 

“He has a hole in his stomach too. I need you here Ry. Please.” Jax pleaded, he rarely said please, he never had too. But he was desperate. Ryder was one of the few people that helped keep his shit together. Without her, things could turn out ugly. Uglier than what they were.  
“I have the bar exam in three days Jax.” She sighed pinching the bridge of her nose and looking at the books, she didn’t want to miss it again, the first time it had happened, she ended up in lockdown with Tacoma and she had to wait for the next round to come up. If she didn’t take it this time, she didn’t want to think on how long it would take her to be able to take it again. 

“You will get to it.” There was the air of confidence in his voice, that she had missed.

‘And I don’t? You're gonna pay for me to take it a third time?” 

‘Yes.” 

“Fine, I will be there as soon as I can.” She caved, hating herself instantly for giving in. She didn’t even hear what Jax was saying as she hung up the phone and tossed her pen at Herman Kozik’s head waking him up. 

“What the hell Ry?” He asked rubbing the sore spot. “I have to go to Charming.” Kozik stared at her in surprise. She had been so against going anywhere near California. “Wendy had the baby and he isn’t doing good at all.”

“And that’s your problem how?” He was the one that knew the whole truth on why she left Charming and didn’t want to go back. 

Ryder lifted her shoulders and then let them fall, “It’s Jax and it’s family. And if I don’t go down on my own, he will send someone up here to get me. Remember when y’all went into lock down and you pulled me out of the dorm room kicking and screaming?” Kozik smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

“I don’t want that happening during the test.” 

“You need me to go with you?”

“No. I will be fine and you and Tig don’t need to be fighting. Again.” 

All her books were closed and stacked on top of one another and she was moving to her bedroom to throw some clothes in a bag. 

“Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?”


	2. Welcome to Charming

Two: Welcome To Charming

Bile rose up in Ryder’s throat again causing her to pull over by the Welcome to Charming sign and finally emptying her stomach that had been twisting and turning since she had reached the California border. “Yeah welcome home, Ry. Let’s see how long it takes for Jacob to try and run you off again.” She muttered to herself as she leaned back into her car and grabbed a wet wipe from her glove box to wipe her face off. Flashing lights in her rearview mirror caused her to groan and straighten up.

If it was Unser coming to give her problems already, she was going to turn around and go right back to Washington. But it wasn’t Unser, it was her husband, David Hale. “Davey?’ She asked as she leaned back forward just in case the nausea came back. 

“Ryder?” he asked, surprised, “What? Why?” Ryder laughed and crumbled the wet wipe in her hand, “Jax called, Wendy had the baby, he wanted me to come home.” 

“So Jax calls and you come running back home. I call you and you make excuses.” David said not surprised with the bitterness and anger in his voice. 

“He would have Kozik dragged me home kicking and screaming.” Ryder returned, the familiar frustration she felt when he brought up the club building up. “So I came on my own free will. The club has embarrassed me one more then one occasion.”

He had been around on several occasions when the club had pulled her out of school or a dance and it embarrassed her and him. And her being on lockdown with the club caused so many fights between them that he wondered now if they had ever been happy before. 

“They pulled me out of the bar exam because they needed to go into lockdown and because I am a Winston from the mother chater, I had to go too. It was so embarrassing and humiliating.” She said. David put his hands on his hips and watched her. 

“And really David, if I was really that important to you. You would have come up and got me yourself. And not just call me.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she moved her legs back in her car and went to shut the door but he stopped her, “Come by the house when you are done at St. Thomas and we will talk.” She nodded her head as she pulled her seatbelt back on. David shut the door and waited for her to pull away before he went back to his jeep.   
**  
“Yeah great way to start my visit.” Ryder muttered to herself as she took her left hand off of the steering and shook it out. She had hoped that she didn’t have to see David while she was here, she hadn’t been ready every time he had called nor did she think she would ever be ready. Seeing him and Tara together the night before she left cut her to the core.

There was a level of violence and anger in her that she didn’t know she even had. Her father and brother sure. But her, never. She had wanted to attack David, attack Tara but she didn’t. Instead she let the anger and boil underneath everything. 

Kozik saw through her facade and after a few weeks had her in the boxing ring that they had at the Tacoma clubhouse. And it helped curb that anger and violence. But now that she was home, she found that it was resurfacing and it was scaring her.

‘It’s okay Ry, you are here for Jax and that’s it.” She muttered to herself as she pulled into the parking lot of Saint Thomas next to Gemma’s black Caddy. 

“And once Abel is out of the woods you can go back to Washington and stay there.”

As far as she concerned Tacoma was home and Charming was just the place that she came from. The roaring of motorcycles shook her out of her thoughts and she pulled herself out of the car and walked up the sidewalk and paused the doors. 

“ ‘Ey Ryder!” Chibs called seeing her first, “What are ye doing here?” “Jax called me. I didn’t want another repeat of what happened when Tacoma went on lock down. And I got pulled out of my test kicking and screaming.’ She returned causing Chibs and Bobby to laugh and the corners of Jax’s mouth to twitch like he was going to smirk. “Everything okay?” “Fine Love, don’t worry about it.” Chibs said as he and Bobby stepped around her to go into the hospital.

She glanced at Jax who had reached her side and raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t much that he could keep from her or her him but today, his face was blank and his blue eyes were burning with anger. 

Deciding not to press it, Ryder put her hand on his forearm, “Show me your son.” He nodded his head and steered her towards the door. She glanced over her shoulder at her car, her one escape from Charming before stepping into the hospital.


End file.
